


Women's March

by middlemarch



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: American Politics, F/M, Feminist Themes, Friendship, Gen, Home, Humor, Marriage, Women's March, political activism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 05:45:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9421154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: January 21, 2017 and the return of Lil' Sebastian.





	

“It’s good to see you smile,” Ben said. 

They both knew he meant a real smile, not the one she wore to work or the supermarket, a big, broad, beaming back-in-Pawnee smile. They’d been few and far between since the election, even though Leslie had said, “Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I think I have a binder from ’02 that referenced this scenario, I’ll find it in the attic,” the morning after and she had been working steadily, relentlessly since then. She was still happy with him and the kids, but she’d been pushing herself so hard—and for Leslie, that was saying something. He and Ann had convinced her to stay in Pawnee for the march instead of flying to DC or driving up to Indianapolis and they’d been right; he texted Ann a picture of Leslie arriving and seeing the array of signs, “Jamm for Justice,” “Sweetums Respects All Shapes and Sizes,” Bobby Newport in a Burberry scarf and coat and pants carrying a placard reading “I Made a Sign,” Ethel Beavers, the first immortal evidently, scowling underneath a “I’ve Been Dealing With This Shit Since the 60s” in red magic marker. Joan Callamezzo wore a dress patterned with tiny vulvas, her breasts spilling out of the top and her calves spilling out of her hot pink Uggs and shouted “This pussy grabs back!” Ron was there, a monolith with his children scrabbling over him, which shouldn’t have surprised Ben even though it did, and Andy played two gigs, a Mouse-Rat reunion with a remixed “I Fell in the Pit,” Burley on the bass, and a Johnny Karate number that really got the crowd going. Someone, maybe Tom, more likely Lucy, had figured out with some help from a nameless Grizzyl consultant, exactly how to make a holographic Lil’ Sebastian gallop across the stage in a pink pussy hat with his neighs coordinated with the “Rise Up!” chants. It was Pawnee, so the crowd waved their cell-phones, set to candle app, as soon as they saw him, even though it was 2 o’clock and sunny.

“You were right, you and Ann, that splendid, cernuous weeping willow, it was a good idea to stay home for the march,” Leslie said. She sounded fatigued, which meant she was exhausted but not too much to keep her up like an over-tired baby (or Sonia for the first full three years of her life).

“Yeah. It’s going to be hard but we can do it. We have to. And I don’t think this White House is prepared for Leslie Knope,” Ben replied. They were older and wiser, at least officially, but in all the essential ways, she was still the Leslie Knope he’d met all those years ago, ready to take on the world to make sure her neighbors were treated well, that the government was just and moral, that everyone could play in the park. 

“No, Joe said they wouldn’t be. He texted on Friday morning, he gave me a few ideas but he said to wait a week or so before I called him back,” Leslie said. 

“That seems…appropriate. Can you last that long?” Ben asked.

“Well, no. But I think he knows that. He said a week, so I’ll call in 3 days. Maybe 4 if we have waffles on Monday,” Leslie replied. Ben laughed. _If we have waffles_ as if there were another option…

“That can be arranged,” he remarked. She gave him a special smile then, a Ben-and-waffles smile and he pitied anyone who crossed her. Well, nearly anyone.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a small ficlet to reflect on the Women's March, a global protest held on all seven continents. I couldn't think of a character I wanted to see more at a march than Leslie Knope and I couldn't think of a better place for a march than Pawnee. I estimate a turnout of 8-10K and a lot of over-sized pussy hats for the large-headed citizens. Mayor Garry Gergich presided. And April played a vuvuzela.


End file.
